Free McDonald’s McFlurry outdoor heat activated billboard

by The Media Store

When a heatwave hit the Netherlands earlier this month, McDonald’s conjured up a novel way to keep people cool. The fast food chain partnered with outdoor advertising company JCDecaux to create a heat-activated billboard. When the temperate hit a record 38.6 degrees Celsius, a panel opened automatically to offer out 100 McFlurry cups to passing pedestrians, they were directed to collect their free ice cream at the nearby McDonald’s store.

Our take

McDonalds wasn’t the first to come up with this particular concept. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola created a billboard that dispensed Coke Zero samples. Later, Carlsberg followed suit and placed a keg in the middle of their billboard that also dispensed beer to thirsty individuals.

McDonalds’ point of difference required pedestrians to head to the store near the billboard to get their cups filled with the delicious treat. Not only was McDonald’s bringing foot traffic into their locale, it was also a subtle sales effort.

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